Asbestos

Three judges' chambers on the third floor of the Washington County Courthouse Annex have been moved to another floor after renovations jarred loose asbestos. "It's not a large quantity, but it's enough that it's a safety (concern)," Court Administrator Eunice Plank said. Plank said the chambers of Circuit Judges John H. McDowell, Donald E. Beachley and W. Kennedy Boone III have been moved to the first-floor law library. The third courtroom on the annex's third floor also is closed.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Dual worlds exist at Waynesboro Area Senior High School, where students learn inside and construction crews work outside. Concrete block continues to form a 106,000-square-foot addition to the circa 1960 building. "We've got some brick going up," said Caroline Dean, the school district's business manager. She said the workers will continue to focus on floors and walls in the near future. "We're reasonably on schedule," Dean said. A groundbreaking ceremony Jan. 9 officially launched the $46 million renovation and expansion project, although asbestos removal had commenced before then.

gregs@herald-mail.com A Washington County Circuit judge denied requests Monday to throw out an asbestos- and environmental-liability insurance suit against Hagerstown-based Allegheny Energy Inc. and four of its subsidiaries. The case related to the Monday hearing and a second case filed in West Virginia are connected to an ongoing disagreement between Allegheny Energy and Lloyd's of London over whether Lloyd's - a global insurance conglomerate - should reimburse Allegheny for thousands of asbestos-related claims and 28 possible environmental cleanup claims.

CSX Real Property Inc. on Wednesday rejected an offer from the City of Hagerstown that was designed to save a portion of the CSX-owned complex that includes the roundhouse, CSX officials said. CSX spokesman Rob Gould and CSX's regional vice president for state relations, Stephen C. Thienel, said the city's offer to take over about five of the approximately 41 acres required CSX to agree to an easement to provide access to the five acres. --cont. from front page -- CSX officials rejected the offer because the easement would have decreased the value of the property and lessened its appeal for development, they said in a telephone interview.

Renovation costs put health center move in doubt Plans to move the Potomac Street Community Health Center into the basement of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center on West North Street in Hagerstown have hit a snag. Expensive measures to remove lead paint and asbestos would be required at the King building, said hospital spokesman John Costopoulos. Costopoulos said the hospital hasn't ruled out the King building, which is owned by Washington County. The hospital is looking at three downtown alternatives, including the YMCA building on North Potomac Street.

The Washington County Commissioners received an update Tuesday on the Board of Education's plans to spend an additional $3.5 million on capital projects in fiscal year 2006. The commissioners approved the supplemental funding for the school system last month. The projects, according to information provided by the school system, are as follows: Williamsport High School: Removal and replacement of asbestos tiles in ceiling, on piping and ductwork, $995,000. Winter Street Elementary School: Boiler replacement, $335,000.

CSX Real Property's contractor on Wednesday filed for a demolition permit to raze 36 buildings on the Hagerstown roundhouse property, according to Hagerstown's permit office. Building Inspector Mike Heyser said permit approval would probably take two weeks. --cont from front page -- According to the permit application, the demolition is expected to cost $995,000. The work would include tearing down the roundhouse, two erecting shops, the turntable pit, three blacksmith shops, and the storehouse and office building.

HAGERSTOWN - Hagerstown City Councilman Lewis C. Metzner said the city's decision to build a fence around the former Municipal Electric Light Plant was an immediate response to secure a building that could pose a health threat to people who go inside. In the meantime, city officials will meet with the owners of the building, Partners Marketing LLP of Staunton, Va., to discuss a timely, cost-effective way to raze the structure, he said. "This is a nasty situation," he said.

Tuscarora School District officials recently received an unwelcome surprise when they learned Mercersburg Elementary School's gym floor has mercury that needs to be professionally removed. The elementary school is in the midst of a $7 million renovation that is expected to be completed before the Aug. 27 start of the academic year. Testing on the gym floor, which is original to the 1980 building, revealed mercury outside acceptable limits, meaning the floor needs to be removed through a special process, according to Stanley Morgan, facilities director for the school district.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- It was supposed to take about 15 months to renovate Washington County Courthouse. But four years after the project began, work continues -- extended by change orders and a host of problems encountered along the way. When the work started in 2004, the plan was to add space for holding cells and a fifth Circuit Court judge. The cost was estimated at $4.19 million. Since then, the county has approved 71 construction change orders to deal with several issues, from asbestos in the building's upper floors to repairs in the alley outside to security enhancements triggered by a courthouse shooting more than 600 miles away.